Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights from February 17

With just 48 hours until No Surrender, Impact Wrestling presented an AXS TV broadcast that put the final touches on the hype for the show and featured a blockbuster main event pitting Bullet Club against Violent By Design.

The six-man tag headlined a show that also saw the continuation of the rivalry between Team Impact and Honor No Moore, the in-ring debut of Giselle Shaw and a contract signing for the Impact Wrestling world title match between Moose and W. Morrissey. 

What happened, who won and what does it mean for Saturday's show? 

Find out with this recap of the February 17 broadcast.

Impact world champion Moose entered the arena ahead of his title defense against W. Morrissey Saturday night at No Surrender for a special contract signing with Scott D'Amore. 

Moose said Morrissey is not there and it is for the best, because the last thing D'Amore wants is to send another talent home due to injury. The EVP of Impact Wrestling told Moose to sign his contract and be on his way.

"At No Surrender, be prepared to send another one of your talents home," the champ said before putting pen to paper and signing the contract. Morrissey appeared, wiped Moose out and delivered a massive chokeslam off the stage and through a table.

       

Grade

A

     

Analysis

A hot segment to kick off the show.

Morrissey stunning Moose, then getting the best of him by exhibiting his strength and fury was a great bit of booking and plants the seed in the minds of fans that maybe, Moose's title reign is not as secure as everyone thinks.

Morrissey is a feel-good story. He has experienced an incredible downfall, only to bounce back and impress enough to earn a world title opportunity on pay-per-view. It is a redemption story the likes of which captivate fans. That he has won over the crowd and is the clear babyface in the match is a testament to his performance and Impact's handling of his booking.

Masha Slamovich returned to the Impact Zone for another demolition of an unknown opponent, this time Kiah Dream.

Slamovich put Dream to sleep with the Russian Death Device en route to another impressive, uncontended victory.

     

Result

Slamovich defeated Dream

     

Grade

A

     

Analysis

Slamovich continued to impress as a destructive force and is clearly the Knockout of the future.

As fun as it is to see her demolish fools, it is just about time for her to move onto the actual competition. Let the fans see what she has to offer against wrestlers who have experienced success in Impact Wrestling. 

Eventually, the squashes are going to lose their effect. That time is not now, but wrestling fans' attention spans are shorter than ever. 

Three immensely talented X-Division stars battled in a three-way dance as Ace Austin, Laredo Kid and the returning Blake Christian battled for the right to advance to No Surrender and a Fatal 4-Way already featuring Jake Something, "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Chris Bey.

A fast, furious contest featured the nonstop action and intensity that have been staples of the division since its inception two decades ago.

Christian shined, Austin proved why he was a world title contender as late as a year ago and Kid solidified himself as a legitimate contender to the X-Division Championship.

Kid delivered a poison rana to Christian and a frog splash, but Austin broke up the pin. Christian delivered a Spanish Fly for a two-count of his own. It was Austin, a veteran of so many high-profile Impact matches, that scored the pinfall victory with The Fold to Christian for the win.

     

Result

Austin defeated Christian and Kid

     

Grade

B+

       

Analysis

Any time you put three performers with the skill of Austin, Christian and Kid together, you can expect a fantastic match. That was certainly the case here as they spotlighted the X-Division, themselves and as a result, the four-way encounter Saturday at No Surrender.

Austin winning was probably the right call given the fact that he has not been involved in anything particularly interesting in a while, despite having the talent to compete for the top prize in the company regularly. 

Kid will have his shots and Christian is a free agent who could instantly be a competitor around whom the entire division revolves. Austin has put in the work and earned the right to appear on the No Surrender card.

"The Quintessential Diva" Giselle Shaw made her in-ring debut with Impact Wrestling Thursday night, battling Lady Frost in Knockouts action.

The newcomer found herself on the defensive late, the recipient of a picture-perfect moonsault from her opponent. She kicked out at two, then caught Frost up top. From there she delivered a super Spanish Fly, but Frost proved her resilience, kicking out at two.

Shaw added a corkscrew moonsault for the pinfall victory in her in-ring debut.

    

Result

Shaw defeated Frost

     

Grade

C+

    

Analysis

This was a solid debut for Shaw and a great opportunity for both women to get some ring time on TV.

Frost looked like the real star here, a competitor who has won over the crowd and competes with confidence her opponent did not have. Maybe that is because it was Shaw's first match on television but she was very clearly upstaged by the ice-cold Knockout.

Shaw winning was the right call and doing so fair and square was an even nicer surprise. Who knows what the newcomer will accomplish but she is off to a strong start, though one has to wonder if there are too many women with too similar of characters at this point in time.

The war between Honor No More and Team Impact wrote its latest chapter as former world champion Chris Sabin battled Kenny King.

After a quick start that had Sabin celebrating with his Impact friends, King slowed the pace, downed his opponent and worked him over with a rear chin lock.

Sabin fought out, mounted an offensive and sought to score the victory. He rocked King with a kick to the chest, scaled the ropes and delivered a crossbody block. King kicked out at two.

Down the stretch, Sabin countered King's attempted counter into a rollup for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Maria Kanellis mockingly applauded Sabin and Team Impact on the singles match win but called into question whether they could trust each other, hinting that Steve Maclin may have been the man to lay out Ring of Honor world champion Jonathan Gresham.

     

Result

Sabin defeated King

     

Grade

C+

     

Analysis

This felt like a match that was just getting started before it ended abruptly, with Sabin picking up the win over a guy in King that was intended to enhance Honor No More's threat. It never got out of first gear and King's loss felt deflating for a faction that has built momentum entering No Surrender.

The tease that Maclin is the assailant behind Gresham's attack almost ensures it was not him, but does create questions: if not Honor No More and Maclin, who was it? 

That is a question that may be answered as soon as Saturday's special live event in which Honor No More should stand tall. 

Ahead of Tasha Steelz's Knockouts Championship opportunity Saturday at No Surrender, she teamed with Savannah Evans to battle Mickie James and Chelsea Green.

The heels isolated and cut off Green for a majority of the match, forcing her to fight back from underneath and tag in her partner if the babyfaces had any chance of a victory. Everytime The Hot Mess created separation, the heels brought her back down to the mat, working her over in their corner while an overzealous James watched on.

The champ finally did tag in, exploding into the match. As she sought to continue her winning ways, she found herself paired off with Steelz. The No. 1 contender delivered a big crucifix bomb, scoring the pinfall victory and sending a message loudly and clearly to the champion.

     

Result

Evans and Steelz defeated James and Green

     

Grade

B

      

Analysis

Steelz picked up a huge win designed to present her as a threat to James and it worked. She already had momentum on her side following the Ultimate X win back at Hard to Kill but this was a victory that came against the champion and saw the challenger pin her shoulders to the mat.

Green took a great beating and was fantastic as the babyface in peril but it still feels like there is some sort of betrayal coming, one that will ultimately lead to her betraying James and winning a title she has held before.

She, more than champion or the No. 1 contender, feels like the performer most likely and equipped to carry the division in the coming weeks and months.

A star-studded main event saw Bullet Club's "Switchblade" Jay White and Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) battled Violent By Design (Eric Young, Deaner and Joe Doering) in a massive six-man tag team main event. 

The heels wore down Tanga and worked him over in their corner. He finally fought out of the grasp of Doering and stumbled backwards into a tag from Loa. He traded shoulder blocks with Doering until both men collided with each other and hit the mat.

White and Young entered the match and teed off on each other, White delivering a barrage of chops in the corner. He dominated the former world champion before GoD tagged in and set Doering up for the Magic Killer, a message to The Good Brothers.

Deaner's interjection and a top-rope elbow drop from Young to White earned VBD a near-fall. 

Moments later, with Young deposited on the floor, Loa and Tanga flattened Deaner out with stereo splashes and Bullet Club scored the win.

After the match, their victory was interrupted by The Good Brothers, who entered but stood on the ramp, staring down their rivals GoD as the final hype before their Impact tag team title match Saturday.

      

Result

Bullet Club defeated Violent By Design

     

Grade

B

     

Analysis

A solid, energetic tag match that highlighted Bullet Club and set the stage for Saturday's matches featuring the faction.

White will battle Young Saturday night and their interaction in this one was evidence they can deliver a show-stealer. White, in particular, is so smooth in the ring and will be among the most popular wrestlers on the entire card. 

The Guerillas of Destiny battle The Good Brothers in a long-awaited match with roots in Japan a decade ago. That match should be a genuine dream match and the result of a feud years in the making.

This was a great way to close out the final show before No Surrender, a show that should help shape what Impact will look like for months to come.